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Vocabulary

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solution- a mixture in which one substance dissolves in another

vein- a narrow channel or slab of a mineral that is much different from the surrounding rock

Outline

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T

How Minerals Form=

• a volcanic pipe formed in the mantle at a depth of 120 kilometers or more and heat change carbon atoms into diamond

  • Processes that form mineral

    • minerals can form through crystallization of melted material
    • minerals can form through crystallization of material dissolved in water

  • Minerals From Magma

    • slow cooling leads to the formation of large crystals
    • fast cooling leads to small crystals

  • Minerals From Hot Water Solutions

    • sometimes elements that form a mineral dissolve in hot water
      • when the hot water solution cools it crystallizes and becomes a mineral
    • pure metals that crystallize often form veins
      • a vein is a narrow channel or slab of mineral that is different from the surrounding rock
    • many minerals form where tectonic plates spread along the mid-ocean ridge
      • ocean water seeps through cracks in crust
      • then it touches the magma and it dissolves minerals from the crust and goes up
      • when it hits the sea it crystallizes and goes to the ocean floor
      • 

  • Minerals Formed by Evaporation

    • minerals can form when solutions evaporate
      • halite, gypsum, calcite crystals, minerals containing potassium form by evaporatiom

  • Where Minerals Are Found

    • Earth's crust is made up of common rock forming minerals
      • rare and less common rocks are not distributed evenly throughout the crust
    • valuable minerals found in areas of volcanic activity and mountain building

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